What Distinguishes Venable?
Venable LLP has nearly 600 lawyers that serve clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its base of operations in the Greater Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region. Venable is committed to a number of programs and operating principles that make it especially attractive among AmLaw 100 firms as a place where associates begin their legal careers. Venable affords its young attorneys challenging, rewarding work, together with mentoring and guidance by exceptional practitioners in a wide variety of practice areas. We've highlighted just a few of these programs below.
The Preceptor Program
Venable's Preceptor Program, our answer to the problem of escalating billable hour requirements, is unique among major firms. Through this program, we reduce the expected billable hours for new lawyers so they can focus more non-billable time on professional training and development, as well as on client service and pro bono matters.
New associates are assigned a Preceptor - usually a senior associate or partner in the same practice group as the associate - for their first two years. This helps new associates integrate fully into the firm and into their respective practice groups. Preceptors help guide a new associate's career, helping with training issues and acting as a mentor. During this two-year period, new associates' billable hour requirements are reduced to 1800 hours annually to allow time for additional training and development opportunities.
The Venable Foundation
Funded by annual contributions from Venable's partners, the Venable Foundation makes direct donations to more than 100 educational, artistic, health and community organizations. Established in 1983 and managed by our Senior Partner and Past Chair, former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti, the Venable Foundation works to promote the health and well-being of the neediest citizens in the communities where Venable's clients and attorneys work and live. Through the Foundation, we complement the pro bono and voluntary contributions of our attorneys with significant financial resources. In the best tradition of bar and community service, we believe that every attorney at Venable should have the opportunity to engage actively in bringing community needs to our attention and supplementing the Foundation's work with their own individual contributions of time and talent.
The Foundation supports a wide range of civic, cultural, and charitable endeavors as well as public interest law and legal education, including regional hospitals and local chapters of national health organizations, "bridge" funding for disadvantaged families and individuals, homeless shelters, community enrichment programs, social service centers, food programs, higher and continuing education programs, as well as artistic and cultural events and organizations.
"An unwavering commitment to the welfare of the communities in which we live and work has been a hallmark of the firm."
--Benjamin R. Civiletti, Senior Partner and Past Chair
Pro Bono
Venable appointed partner Gerry Treanor, a well known Washington white collar litigator, to the full-time position of Pro Bono Coordinator. Venable has long recognized the importance of providing first-rate legal representation to those who are unable to afford an attorney. This commitment is important to our community, to the firm and to our profession. This commitment starts with our new lawyers, who devote at least 100 hours in each of their first two years to pro bono and community contributions. This commitment extends to our equity partners who, in addition to the commitment of time and experience to the community, contribute a percentage of their annual income to charitable causes served by the Venable Foundation.
Venable provides and encourages training in a wide variety of litigation and non-litigation pro bono areas. Assistance from more experienced attorneys is always available as well. Less experienced lawyers are encouraged to form teams to take on projects. Our pro bono efforts range from children's rights to death penalty appeals, from veterans' and prisoners' rights to political asylum litigation.
Commitment to Giving Associates Early Responsibility
Venable prides itself on affording its clients first-rate, efficient legal services. Our staffing is lean compared to our peer firms, thus affording Venable associates the opportunity to take on significant responsibilities relatively early in their legal careers. Our pro bono programs also afford young associates the opportunity to serve as lead counsel on matters, with appropriate advice and guidance from more senior Venable attorneys along the way.
Rooftop Bocce
In addition to being a law firm committed to giving its associates professional challenge and support, ours is a firm that likes to have a little fun, too. To our knowledge, Venable is the only firm with its own rooftop bocce court. In the fall of 2003, our Washington, D.C. office moved to new office space in Terrell Place, the former home of Hecht's downtown department store, which old-time Washingtonians remember fondly. Terrell Place, named in honor of Mary Church Terrell, a civil rights activist who led the fight to desegregate Washington, D.C. restaurants in the 1950's, is in the heart of the Penn Quarter, conveniently located across from the Verizon Center and the Gallery Place Metro. We are close to the Mall, Capitol Hill, monuments, and a wide variety of restaurants, shops and galleries.
Our space is newly designed and has an outdoor rooftop bocce court. It's beautifully appointed (and fun) and has proven to be very popular among attorneys, staff and visitors. (If you come for an interview, be sure to ask for the rooftop tour!) Close to a hundred two-person teams, representing all groups, subgroups and departments in the Washington office, compete each year for the coveted bocce trophy.
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